Promised Land: An illustrated LGBT children's book

NZ$ 43,362

796

A fantastical story about friendship, adventure, responsibility and love.

PROMISED LAND is an LGBT themed children's book written by Adam Reynolds & Chaz Harris with illustrations by Christine Luiten.

The first edition of PROMISED LAND will be a full colour illustrated storybook aimed at 5-10 year olds and up with a target release date of 11 October 2016 (recognised internationally as 'National Coming Out Day').

We are offering copies of the book through Kickstarter to help cover the upfront cost of illustration, design and the printing of a limited 1st Edition.

Concept of finished book

STRETCH GOALS

If we can raise over our initial goal of $25,000 (NZD) then here is what backers will receive:

If we reach $35,000 (NZD) or more we will produce a high-quality audio book of Promised Land. All people who have pre-ordered a printed or E-book copy of Promised Land will get the audio book for FREE! This additional funding will allow us to pay for the recording session, and to approach some high profile talent with a financial offer for narrating the audio book.

If we reach $45,000 (NZD) then we’ll produce an interactive app version of Promised Land. All people who have pre-ordered a printed or E-book copy of Promised Land will get the audio book AND the app for FREE!

THE STORY

In PROMISED LAND, a young Prince and a Farmboy meet by chance in the forest and their newfound friendship soon blossoms into love. However, things get complicated when the Queen's sinister new husband seeks control over the enchanted forest that the farm boy's family are responsible for protecting.

Character designs for our heroes Jack (the Farmboy) and Leo (the Prince)

AUTHOR'S STATEMENT

Growing up with very little in the way of LGBT stories in print or on screen, we decided to write the story that our eight year old selves needed. During our childhoods and teen years, we had no role models or stories that represented the notion that "happily ever after" could even exist if you're gay. As such, we felt there should be more stories like that, and so we wrote one together.

PROMISED LAND is not just a story for gay youth. The sexuality of our main characters is never questioned - they merely happen to be two young men who meet and fall in love.

Our goal has always been to create a story that provides understanding and acceptance by showing young people that, regardless of what gender they are attracted to, love is love.

Authors Adam Reynolds & Chaz Harris

COSTS

In order to bring this story to life we need your help. This is where your money will be going (in NZ dollars):

REWARDS

Here are a few of the awesome rewards we have to offer:

*Reward images are not a final representation of products or services

AS FEATURED ON

Thank you for the support!

Risks and challenges

We’re driven by a strong passion for creating something we wished we'd had as children. We also believe in fostering acceptance in the next generation of young people so that others may not experience the same feelings of otherness that we did to reinforce one message: it's okay to be gay.

A book like this involves countless hours of collaboration between the authors, the illustrator, the designer, proofreader and printer.

We’ve spent the last eight months collaborating directly with illustrator Christine Luiten to bring our vision to life and we're very excited about doing the same with the rest of the storybook. We have confirmed that our timeline is realistic for completing all of the illustration/design work on the book. We’ll be keeping our backers informed throughout the process with updates in case of any delays to printed copies arriving.

With a background predominantly as filmmakers, we see a book project like this as more of a challenge than a risk. We have already tested the story for PROMISED LAND with parents and their children with feedback being overwhelmingly positive (except about the sad parts of the story) and we plan on testing it further before release.

We are now at a stage where we need to seek funding to move forward with the illustrations in order to deliver a beautiful, high quality printed 1st edition later in the year.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge NZ$ 35 or more
About $24

FRESH OFF THE FARM:

A printed copy of the limited 1st edition of PROMISED LAND
+ Exclusive illustration previews/updates
+ PDF files of character design sketches and colouring-in sheets (to be delivered after campaign ends)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge NZ$ 250 or more
About $169

THE PRINCE'S PORTRAIT:

A SIGNED 1st edition printed copy of PROMISED LAND
+ A headshot character design sketch of you (or a friend/family member) in the style of the book illustrated by Christine Luiten (based on a photo supplied by you)
+ Exclusive illustration artwork previews/updates prior to release
+ PDF files of pencil drawn character design sketches and colouring-in sheets (to be delivered after campaign ends)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge NZ$ 300 or more
About $203

THE CROWN JEWELS:

A SIGNED 1st edition printed copy of PROMISED LAND
+ Your name listed as a special thanks on the inside cover
+ Exclusive first-look previews of illustrations as they are finished
+ PDF files of character design concept sketches and printable character colouring-in sheets (to be delivered after campaign ends)
+ An A3 colour poster of the book cover art (folded)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge NZ$ 350 or more
About $237

THE COURT JESTER'S CAMEO:

2 x SIGNED 1st edition printed copies of PROMISED LAND
+ Your name listed as a special thanks on the inside cover
+ A character design of your likeness featured as a guest at the Queen's wedding in the book (based on a photo supplied by you)
+ Exclusive first-look previews of illustrations as they are finished
+ PDF files of character design concept sketches and printable character colouring-in sheets (to be delivered after campaign ends)
+ An A3 colour poster of the book cover art (folded)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge NZ$ 350 or more
About $237

THE CROWN OR COUNTRY CAMEO:

2 x SIGNED 1st edition printed copies of PROMISED LAND
+ Your name listed as a special thanks in the book
+ A character design of your likeness (based on a photo supplied by you) featured somewhere in the book (we will let you know what page you appear on prior to shipping)
+ Exclusive first-look previews of illustrations as they are finished
+ PDF files of character design concept sketches and printable character colouring-in sheets (to be delivered after campaign ends)
+ An A3 colour poster of the book cover art (folded)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge NZ$ 500 or more
About $339

FRIENDS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY:

10 x SIGNED 1st edition printed copies of PROMISED LAND
+ Your name listed as a special thanks on the inside cover
+ Exclusive first-look previews of illustrations as they are finished
+ PDF files of character design concept sketches and printable character colouring-in sheets (to be delivered after campaign ends)
+ An A3 colour poster of the book cover art (folded)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge NZ$ 1,000 or more
About $677

OUR ROYAL SPONSOR:

Your COMPANY LOGO in the book listed as one of up to three royal sponsors.
+ 10 x SIGNED 1st edition printed copies of PROMISED LAND
+ A full body character design sketch of you (or a friend/family member) in the style of the book illustrated by Christine Luiten (based on a photo supplied by you)
+ Exclusive first-look previews of illustrations as they are finished
+ PDF files of character design concept sketches and printable character colouring-in sheets (to be delivered after campaign ends)
+ An A3 colour poster of the book cover art (folded)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge NZ$ 1,200 or more
About $813

HAPPILY EVER AFTER:

Celebrant Rachel Dudfield will be the Celebrant at your wedding or someone else's (subject to her availability on dates requested and if outside of Wellington you will need to cover cost of travel/accommodation).
+ The happy couple's names will be included in our Special Thanks on the inside cover of the first edition (plus your name if this is a gift)
+ A double cameo likeness of the happy couple included in the book as guests at the Royal Wedding (based on a photo supplied by you/them)
+ A 10" Rainbow Cake to feed approx. 30 people from Sweet Release Cakes & Treats (Wellington only, made to any special dietary req's, not a wedding cake but perfect for an engagement party)
+ 10 x SIGNED 1st edition printed copies of PROMISED LAND
+ 2 x A3 posters (folded)
+ PDF copy of the character design sketches and colouring-in sheets when this campaign ends.

PLEASE NOTE:
- New Zealand ONLY (and if outside Wellington further costs will apply for getting Celebrant and Cake to destination)
- Celebrant and Cake is available anytime after the campaign ends